After parting with Sezl, Rael walked for a long while. Her decision to separate far from her destination wasn’t solely because she didn’t want to reveal where she was going.

She simply wanted to walk freely without restraint. How she had missed these ordinary, unhindered steps. “Though perhaps I should have chosen somewhere closer,” she muttered to herself.

The only problems were that her body tired more easily than before and that she hadn’t brought enough money for transportation. She had hoped Sezl might have thoughtfully tucked some gold coins inside the robe, but no such luck.

She couldn’t blame anyone. While waiting at the castle, she had mentally noted several valuable items, but when the moment came, she had been too startled to do anything but flee. 

Expecting herself to have grabbed porcelain or pried gold decorations from pillars would have been unreasonable. Consequently, Rael had no choice but to walk for a considerable distance.

Just when she felt she might never want to walk again, her destination came into view. “Finally arrived,” she sighed.

The sun had long since set, and with crickets chirping as her companions, she climbed a low hill where a modest building appeared before her.

“Mercia Temple.”

It was indeed a temple.

Rael had chosen to come here instead of the Magic Tower or her hometown for two reasons: first, temples were places beyond the reach of demons’ gaze, and second, someone who could help her was here.

Despite the late hour, Rael walked confidently toward the temple, which emitted a soft glow from within.

The door opened, cutting through the quiet stillness, revealing the temple’s interior which felt warm compared to the cooler outside air.

“Is anyone here…?”

Usually, priests would stand near the entrance to welcome devotees, but none were visible now, likely due to the late hour. Feeling uneasy about staying outside, Rael carefully entered and closed the door behind her.

Once the door closed, she released the shallow breath she’d been holding due to tension. It was strange how much relief this simple temple brought her.

Rael ventured further inside, hoping to find someone in the unfamiliar temple.

Though small in scale, it was a neat and tidy place. A large courtyard was visible alongside the corridor, filling the interior with the scent of grass that refreshed her mind.

Walking straight ahead while admiring the pristine white interior, she eventually came upon a large door.

‘The prayer room?’

Pushing the door slightly, she glimpsed a dimly lit interior. Judging by the goddess statue in the center of the room and the arrangement of long benches, it did appear to be a prayer room.

Strangely, upon entering, her eyes reddened as though tears might fall at any moment.

“Hic…”

Tears indeed began to stream down her face. Whether these tears stemmed from relief or were triggered by memories of her recent hardships, she wasn’t sure, but she certainly wanted to cry her heart out.

“Ngh…”

Suppressed sobs echoed through the prayer room. Rael collapsed onto a bench near the doorway and buried her face in her hands. Her face was likely a mess, but once started, her tears wouldn’t stop.

In the midst of her sobbing, a faint candlelight illuminated the previously dark prayer room.

“Who’s there?”

A familiar voice came from in front of her. Startled, she looked up to see the very person she had come to find.

“Bastian…”

Her childhood friend who had been a novice priest.

“Rael?”

And who had now become a high priest.

Upon recognizing Rael’s face, Bastian nearly dropped the candlestick he was holding in surprise. Understandably so—how could he not be shocked when his friend, whose whereabouts had been unknown, suddenly appeared without warning, crying in the prayer room?

“Bastian…”

Seeing his face, Rael’s tears, which had briefly subsided, burst forth again.

“What on earth… has happened to you?”

She couldn’t readily answer his question.

Indeed. How had it come to this? How had she ended up carrying a demon’s seed and fleeing to hide in her friend’s temple? Just a few months ago, she couldn’t have imagined such a situation.

“Huuung.”

Words failed her while tears poured down abundantly. Bastian, seeing Rael in this state, was too bewildered to speak.

He patted her shoulder comfortingly and placed the candlestick at a distance, thinking she might be embarrassed for him to see her crying face.

* * *

“Have some warm tea first.”

Rael, whose breathing had finally steadied, was moved to Bastian’s office. Her face was still blotchy and disheveled, and the tip of her nose was swollen red like that of a drunk person.

“…Thank you.”

Though she expressed gratitude while picking up the warm teacup, only a cracked voice emerged from her throat.

As she cooled and sipped the hot tea, her mind gradually calmed.

Bastian sat across from her, slowly watching as she drank her tea.

His gaze swept over Rael’s entire figure. Shadows fell beneath her swollen eyes, and her hair, usually tied neatly, was disheveled as though she had been caught in strong winds. 

Her cheeks, which seemed thinner than before, even looked withered. The wrist visible beneath her sleeve was so thin it looked like it might break with a light tap. However, the most telling sign of her poor condition was the lifelessness in her eyes.

“What happened?”

Normally, his temperament would have allowed him to wait patiently until words came from her small mouth, but now he felt inexplicably anxious. He wanted to grab those bony shoulders and shake her, urging her to speak quickly. They were close enough for such familiarity, after all.

“……”

He never imagined that such a long silence would hang between them like thorns floating in the air. Clearly, something had happened to his friend.

“I… ah.”

After opening and closing her mouth several times, Rael would lick her dry lips only to firmly shut them again, repeating this pattern multiple times.

“…If it’s difficult to talk about, take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

Seeing how she, who normally couldn’t stop sharing every detail with him, was hesitating so much, he sensed the news wouldn’t be good.

A heavy breath was drawn in and exhaled. Rael tightly closed her eyes then opened them, stared blankly at the tea in her cup, looked at Bastian once, then sighed again, repeating this sequence several times.

Nevertheless, Bastian calmly drank his tea, waiting for Rael to speak. Of course, he wasn’t maintaining his composure so perfectly that he could distinguish whether the tea was sour or bitter.

He was worried. He wondered what could have happened to make Rael, who normally wouldn’t be satisfied until she had said everything on her mind, behave this way.

“The truth is, over the past few months, unimaginable things have happened to me.”

As she finally began speaking, Bastian interlaced his fingers and listened intently.

“You probably won’t believe it even if you hear it. You might think I’ve gone mad.”

“Go on.”

He could have unconditionally taken her side, insisting it couldn’t be so, but he decided to hear more first.

“…Sigh. One day, I received an order from the Magic Tower.”

“What kind of order?”

“They told me to go to the Demon King’s Castle.”

“The Demon King’s Castle?”

Bastian’s face contorted slightly. Being a priest, he couldn’t help but react to the term “Demon King.”

“They said monsters in the Northern Desert had increased, causing significant damage, so they sent me to persuade the Demon King to seal that area.”

“…Continue.”

Bastian didn’t even notice he was biting the inside of his cheek. The beginning of the story was already troubling.

“I met someone there.”

“The Demon King?”

“If it had just been the Demon King, none of this would have happened. It would have simply become my grave.”

Bastian’s eyebrows twitched.

“I encountered an old acquaintance there.”

“An old acquaintance?”

“Someone I briefly knew during my Academy days. Ah, you might have seen him once too.”

At Rael’s words, a silhouette flashed through Bastian’s mind. Though he couldn’t remember precisely, he recalled that distinctive, chilling atmosphere.

“Anyway, he told me something.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the reason the Magic Tower sent me there was to obtain the Demon King’s seed. That the Tower was using me to create a being with demonic powers but in human form.”

“What is that…”

Bastian couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Rael’s story. Rael had reacted exactly the same way when she first heard those words.

“I thought it was nonsense too. First of all, such a thing shouldn’t be possible, and the Magic Tower wouldn’t push me into danger with such a foolish idea, nor would the Demon King accept it.”

Bastian suddenly felt a chill down his spine. No way. He looked at Rael with confused eyes, and she calmly nodded.

“Yes. Eventually, everything happened according to their wishes.”

“You…!”

Bastian unconsciously slammed his hands on the table and jumped to his feet.

“Sit down. I’m not finished yet.”

“Ah…”

More surprised by his own reaction, Bastian quietly sat back down.

“The child was conceived, and the Magic Tower that sent me is after the child. But the Demon King wants the child too.”

“What?”

“Everyone around me wants the child in my womb, but I can’t let anyone take my baby away.”

“…So you’re saying you want to give birth to and raise this child?”

“Of course.”

After answering Bastian’s question, Rael took a sip of her now-cooled tea. Without the hot steam, it slid smoothly down her throat. She felt her chest clear a little.

“I have no intention of letting anyone use my child. That’s why I came to you, Bastian.”

Seeing Rael’s resolute expression, so different from her sobbing, sniffling appearance in the prayer room, Bastian felt this was indeed the Rael he knew. However, that didn’t make the situation any less shocking. In fact, he felt dizzy from it all.

“…Dear God.”

It was enough to make him spontaneously call upon the divine.